16 miles / 25 km Salem Lake to to Clyde River just above School Road
I think it is the hottest day so far. We are now camped on a minuscule but insect free sand bank a short distance upstream of School Road on the Clyde river.
This morning after yesterday's effort we were tired and became demotivated by the final 1 - 2 km we had to travel upstream to reach Fontain Road in West Charleston.
|
 |
 |
To cheer us up we stopped at the Scampy Deli for lunch and then continued on the short but hot portage.
 |
 |
|
Charleston Pond |
 |
The NFCT campsite at Great Falls was completely trashed (litter, broken glass) and now posted with 2 signs "No trespassing".
Just as well we had not tried to camp here last night.
At least the path along the portage was decorated with pretty wild flowers.
 |
The heat drained us and arriving at Clyde River Recreation at 3 pm we considered stopping for the day. The owner Chris said we were welcome to stay but he motivated us to paddle a little further as it was indeed, as he pointed out, a beautiful day.
About 2 1/2 hours later we stopped at a small sandbank, pleased we had followed his suggestion.
 |
 |
We have made many canoe trips, mainly downstream, often in areas with spectacular scenery and Geoff has sometimes been disappointed in the scenery during this trip. He has now changed his mode of thinking from qualifying this holiday not as a "canoe trip" but as a "canoe journey". That makes him much more optimistic and he is now finally really enjoying this holiday without complaints and appreciating the changing landscapes.
After all the warnings we received prior to starting we are super careful. The only time we have felt hassled was on the portage from Newport to Clyde Pond along the Clyde Pond road. A guy in a battered old red truck slowly passed us back and forth about 4 times. We portage 2 trips, but on that road we made very short steps each time ensuring that everything remained in sight. Until now everything is going fine.
Most people we have met have been friendly and helpful. Many have not heard about the NFCT but are interested to hear about it. They all wish us well on our travels.
I have been disappointed with the amount of rubbish in the Clyde river, especially the section we did today from Salem Lake to Fontaine Road bridge, West Charleston.
There are hundreds of tires and much rusty old iron work lying in the river bed and along the banks.
Next |
Previous